


Mid-Somber Nightmare

by RainPlain



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Don't see the violence, Fairy!Viktor, Fairy!Yuri, Fairy!Yuuri, Fantasy, Gen, M/M, Romance, but there is some disturbing imagery, fairytale, fairytale AU, knight!Otabek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-09-18 01:28:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9359276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainPlain/pseuds/RainPlain
Summary: Yuri was enjoying his life and even the company of his so called guardians, the only problem is that some things change when you least expect it.  Can the neighboring soldier help him gain some semblance of normality?  A not so nice fairy-tale in a not so nice universe.





	1. Just a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Even though it says there is violence, there really isn't especially not in this chapter. Just some imagery that comes from earlier violence later on in the story. There also won't be any sex scenes.

During the early morning, before the sun rises, there is always a calm over the forest.  The predators have their stomachs full, the bugs are settling down for the day, and those that wake with the sun, wait for its bright rays to peek through the tree branches.  The pine tree was still, as the wind hadn’t been particularly strong that night.  This quiet is normal and peaceful.  It’s a breath being held before the orchestra begins its usual song.  If only the peace would last forev-

_Hey!  HEY!  HEY EVERYONE IT’S THE SUN!_

_Its morning already?  When did that happen?_

_WOULD YOU SHUT UP, I WANT TO SLEEP FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES!_

_Man, I really need a bath.  Anyone know of a good place?_

_Who wants to go find some berries with me?_

_Anyone seen my acorn?_

_Run, run, run, gotta get home before they know I was gone._

_HEY GIIIIIIIRL YOU ARE SMOKING WANNA GO SOMEWHERE?!_

Now if only the orchestra actually knew how to play a beautiful song.  A thud was heard in the small room as a head met a window sill.  The blond hair cascaded down over the sill and blocked the green eyes from the nice view they were once watching.  He moved his head to the side as he heard a chuckle come from behind him.

“Ah Kitten, you would think that you would learn not to listen by now.” Blue eyes danced with amusement as his silver-haired roommate approached. 

“Shut up.  I don’t want to hear it right now.  It’s not like I can just ignore them.” The teen turned his head, chin set on the sill, to look out the window.  A scratching noise resounded through the house before a squirrel ran by the window, its tail filling up the small opening in the tiny house.

_Now if I were that acorn I buried, where would I be?_

The teen sat up, obviously nothing was going his way at the moment.  It didn’t help that he was cranky from being tired.  The early morning always made him tired, even years after he was allowed to stay up that late.  His teenage mind could only bring up contempt for the man that was now patting his back in comfort.  He knew if he turned and looked at him there would be a large smile on his face.  Instead he turned swiftly on the stool and smacked his hand away, looking triumphant at the pained look.

“Yuri, would you like a snack before going to bed?” The teen and the man turned to a black haired man whose head was poking out from the little nook that held their pantry.  His smile was calm and his face relaxed.  Yuri perked up and nodded, pushing the tallest of them away so he could get up and run over to the pantry.  The black head disappeared from the corner as Yuri neared it and he heard footsteps right before the front door opened.  He rounded the corner and saw a flash of light as well as heard a buzzing sound.  His other roommate was standing in the pantry, carefully considering the shelves and staring at their contents, his wings buzzing a bit right before moving on to look at the next article.  Yuri walked over, and immediately saw the berry he wanted, sitting right next to the asshole squirrel’s acorn he stole yesterday.

“I just want this.” Yuri grabbed the berry off the shelf with both hands and turned to see him still staring intently at the shelves, caught in his own thoughts.  “Is there something you want?”

“I know I put a dried piece of plum in here somewhere, but I can’t seem to find it.”  His voice seemed wistful and contemplative as he moved his gaze up a shelf higher, leaning in to look at the shelf closer.

“Ah, I think it’s over here.” Yuri put the berry under his left arm, holding it against his hip, and got up on his tip toes as he reached up to the top shelf, pulling down the dried piece of plum his companion hadn’t seen.  Grumbling at the injustice of living with giants he handed it over and turned to walk out of the pantry.

“Yuuri, I’ve made sure the lamp outside is out.” The silver-haired was shutting the door as they left the pantry, smile still firmly planted on his face.

“Thank you, Viktor.  Here, Yuri found the plum for me.” Yuuri ripped the dried piece of plum in half and handed one of the halves to Viktor.  Yuri turned at this point, not wanting to see the inevitable sweetness that was his roommates flirting with each other.  He would rather go brood in his room with his cranberry and go to sleep. 

“SWEET DREAMS KITTEN!  HOPEFULLY THE BIRDS QUIET DOWN SOON!” Viktor yelled at his retreating form.  He growled and heard the soft twinkle of Yuuri’s laugh as he slammed the door to his room.  He sat down on his bed, ignoring the yelling that had intensified outside the house as the sun had rose.  It was much quieter now that he was further into his house, the sounds not easily carried through the wood.  It made it easier to sleep without having the sun and the noise keeping you awake.  The noises would quiet down even further and the room would be completely silent in another hour.

His first bite of the cranberry was sweet, and he made a face, losing hope that it had the sourness that he was craving at the moment.  His second bite proved to be more to his needs and he happily ate another 3 bites before setting it aside to eat for his breakfast that afternoon.  He hated getting up and it made it easier not to if his breakfast was right next to him when he woke up.  He stretched his split wings and made a promise to himself to go for a fly when he woke up.  He had gotten all of his chores for the week finalized today, and his grandpa wasn’t supposed to show up to the house for another three weeks since he had just visited last week.

He scratched his head as he yawned and pushed the oak leaf he was sitting on down the bedding to get under it for the night.  He punched the rest of the dried leaves under his mass of cotton a few times before he snuggled into it.  He looked over to his door to the main room, and thought about how far he would fly tomorrow.  His roommates had just let him start flying away from the house by himself this year, saying he wasn’t old enough, he would hurt himself.  Now they had run out of excuses - well really Viktor had run out of excuses - and he loved his new freedom.  He fell asleep, thoughts of the wind and the smoke stacks of the human settlement floating through his head.

o0~*~*~0o

Right around the time the sun had hit a fourth of the way through the sky, Yuri ran out of his room and zoomed toward the door.  Yuuri was sitting on the stick stool by the door that Yuri was sitting on last night.  He was concentrating hard while using a broken porcupine quill to stitch up a hole in one of Yuri’s pants knees.  Yuuri looked up at the sound of nearing footsteps and tried to see Yuri- “I’m going out for a fly!” -only to see a flash of blue and yellow pass by him.  As Yuri shut the door he heard the twinkle of a laugh followed by a ‘be safe’.  He started running to get a good speedy start, when he tripped over a bunch of pine needles he knew wasn’t there yesterday.  Yuri turned to look up at the chuckling voice and saw Viktor on the roof of their homemade patio, string in one hand and holding a bundle of pine needles in the other.  Yuri was temporarily blinded when Viktor’s wings caught a stray streak of sunlight coming through the tree branches.

“Kitten!  I didn’t think you would be up and running around this early.” Viktor finished tying off the bundle in his hands and wiped the sweat off his brow.  “The animals are acting like it’s going to rain soon, so I thought I would reinforce the roof.  Wanna help?”

“HELL NO!” Yuri scrambled to his feet and got his running start before jumping in the air, the chuckle following him.  He turned a couple of times, getting a good look at the bristlecone pine they lived in.  Its trunk all tangled around itself, the scattered pine needles poking out from the side, it looked like a prehistoric tree.  He was still surprised it was alive since it wasn’t as high up in the tree line of the mountain as its counterparts.  He fluttered around through the nearby pine trees’ on his ascent, dancing through the twigs on his way up.  He broke through the foliage at last and saw the smoke from the houses in the distance, down the mountain.  He quickly zoomed off that way twirling and dipping and diving through the air currents as he passed through them.  A few sparrows joined into his mid-air dance and he flitted and fluttered through them.  They sat in one current for a little while, just letting it keep them in place in the air, enjoying the feel of the warmer southern wind as it brushed through them.  Yuri attempted to join them, but his wings could only hold him for so long before he had to move them or risk the wind bending them.

He said his goodbye to his temporary play mates and dived down into the forest.  He made it a game to see how quickly he could go between the thin tree trunks, zigzagging through them and spinning like a corkscrew.  Finally he broke through the trees towards the bottom of the mountain and paused, wings buzzing to keep him steady in the air.  He looked to the east and started toward the settlement once again.  He turned into a quick torpedo as he neared the cluster of stone houses, hoping that the group of people on approaching horses only thought of him as a dragonfly, or didn’t see him at all.  He quickly made his way through the sparser parts of the town, heading toward the largest street in the town.  He kept to the alleys and close to the ground until he knew he was nearing the street.  He hastily ascended up the side of a house on the other side of the main street, up and over the lip of the roof until he grabbed the chimney.  He quickly hid his torso behind it and stuck his head out the side, making sure that if anyone looked up there they would really only see a little shimmer before he hid behind it.  He hoped the procession would move through this part of the town.  He remembered the circus that had rolled through not 8 months ago that Yuuri and Viktor had taken him to see had moved through this street.  Hopefully it was a normal human behavior to go down the largest street as a crowd.

Where were they coming from?  Were they merchants?  Adventurers?  He didn’t see any weird animals, so it wasn’t another circus or a carnival.  Yuri waited excitedly, watching the approaching horses with a little bit of apprehension as well.  As they got closer, other people started coming out to look at the progression.  Slowly shouts started up and turned into joyous rancor.  He could see some of their features now as they came into sight.  They shined and even the horses had a shiny substance on them.  Long instruments were hanging off the side of the horses - some shining, some dark - and bounced with the movement.  They were about five across, taking up over half of the street, and almost 10 rows behind he could see others walking in a formation all their own.  They didn’t shine as much and most were burdened with heavy packs on their backs.

Yuri could now finally see that these were soldiers.  Most of the ones in the front still looked pristine, not a scratch in their armor or dirty piece of clothing on them.  As it kept going, however, the real fighters started to appear.  These were the last few rows of horses and those walking on the ground.  Many were wounded and dirty, but happy.  Their clothes were torn, tattered, and with spots of blood soaked in.  Some had very sordid looks to them as they passed through the town, carrying a second sword or helmet under their arm and old or new tear streaks staining their cheeks.  Only one soldier had a rather blank look, showing neither happiness, nor sadness, and it was this soldier that really caught Yuri’s attention.  His hair was dark and short, an oddity to Yuri but not so odd when you looked and saw all the soldiers wore their hair in differing short styles.  His over cloak was tattered and dark burlap brown.  His under clothes were dark and hard to see from a distance, and he had a scabbed over cut on his right cheek.

He had seen this soldier before.  He lived in a house by the forest before he had disappeared what seemed to be overnight almost 6 months ago.  Yuri had like to watch him as he lived simply with his mother.  They had owned a few sheep, horses, and goats, and a dog had been a great help to them with herding them into place.  He had still watched the older woman work, but it just wasn’t the same since the boy had disappeared.  It made sense that he had left with the group to fight.  He knew that a lot of young men from the village had seemed to stop appearing around the same time.  He had also heard from his grandfather on a few occasions that there was a large battle happening to the south east amoungst the humans.  He remembered seeing the soldier move a stick through the air as a sword on more than one occasion back at the farm.  Yuri smirked, happy to see that a source of amusement had returned when dark eyes looked right at his hiding spot.

Yuri jumped and hid a little further behind the chimney.  He had known that he probably wasn’t seen because of the blue he wore matched the sky so well.  The problem was he saw the soldier draw a small smile as he finally passed by Yuri.  He couldn’t see the soldiers face anymore, just his back.  Yuri looked down at the roof, wondering if he had been seen.  Would it be a good idea to leave as soon as possible or continue to hide there until the population had thinned out again?  He looked back down to the procession and decided to wait.  He had come here to watch, and a random sheep herder wasn’t going to scare him into running.

It took almost a whole hour for the group of soldiers to stop walking.  He could see the end just a few houses down from his, and couldn’t see the front anymore.  He waited and was confused when no one moved for almost 10 minutes.  Then, like a wave of the trees with a strong breeze, the group dispersed and people were running to each other, hugging and crying and generally being merry.  He watched as one soldier walked up to a woman and her two children and presented a battered helmet.  The woman broke out into tears as she clutched it to her chest and the soldier just stood there watching like his guilt was weighing him straight to the spot.  He watched as another man ran toward 5 children also running at him.  They easily tackled him to the ground, laughing and kissing his face, holding him like they never wanted to let go again.  The range of emotions was fascinating.  He had only seen this many people in one place when he had been taken to the great city, and even then not everyone was displaying such intense emotions.  He watched the crowds, eager to learn more about them, see what they did for celebration.

It was nearing midnight when Yuri decided to head back to the little nook in the tree.  Yuuri had promised him yesterday that he was going to make him some crushed acorn bread for lunch and he wasn’t about to miss out on his sweet revenge on that stupid squirrel.  That’s the last time he would tell a squirrel where his favorite black berry bush was.  Stealing bastards.  He never had seen the familiar soldier again.  He let himself go a little slower on the way back than he had on his way to the town.  He dipped and ducked into the winds, dancing with them and letting them lead at times.  This was the best part about flying.  Letting his body dance and sway as if nothing else in the world was there.  Feeling his body as it gracefully flew through the air.  His guardians were just as in love with the winds as he was.  He didn’t know if it was just a thing with fairies, but he hadn’t seen his grandfather dance with it before.  When he was learning, watching his guardians fly was like watching the most intricate dance he had ever seen.  Maybe that’s why he had grabbed onto the same love, and not grow indifferent to it like his grandfather.

He dived through the branches of the tree he called home and as he cleared the last of them, he felt his veins freeze over.  He stopped up in the air, his breath catching on every inhale.  He finally noticed that he didn’t hear the usually bickering of the birds or the late night hunters talking to themselves as they tried to find food.  It was eerily quiet and it accentuated his short, staccato breathing and the buzzing of his wings.  Down below him, the roof he had seen Viktor mending just this morning had been crushed to the ground and in pieces.  Notches had been taken out of the front of his home as if an ax had been taken to it, and the inside was easily seen through the unnatural hole.  He frantically looked for any signs of the other two fairies without getting close and found none.  He buzzed over to the branch next to him slowly, not really aware that he was moving at all.  His legs bumped it and he jumped, letting out a short scream before he covered his mouth with both hands.  His breathing was still labored and shallow as he started to feel lightheaded.  He grabbed onto the branch and laid down on it, breathing hard with one hand on his stomach and one over his head, hiccuping in an attempt to stop his tears from falling down his face.  They lived so far into the forest, how could anyone find them?  Why would anyone want to destroy their home?  Viktor wouldn’t have been able to leave Yuuri; if they were either in the house or under the roof when it collapsed…..

He gave up keeping his sobs in check.  He needed to find help, he knew he did.  His mind was screaming it at him.  But where would he go?  He didn’t know where his grandfather lived, he knew of no other fairies in the area, and there wasn’t any animals around to tell him what had happened.  He kept crying, his sobs wracking his tiny body as his mind kept running in circles on what to do.  Time seemed irrelevant.  He had no idea how long he had sat there crying, trying to decide what to do, but it could have been seconds, or it could have been hours.  Hell, it could have even been days with how exhausted he was becoming.  A snap of a twig had him covering his mouth to quiet his breathing and panic started to take over his ability to think at all.  Eventually, his body decided the best course of action for him.  His wings picked up and flung him back the way he had come from at top speeds.  He couldn’t see where he was going from the tears still filling his eyes and ran into multiple branches, cutting his arms and legs.  The only things running through his mind was Viktor’s heart shaped smile as he left this morning, quickly followed by Yuuri’s soft close mouthed smile.  Over and over and over again, all their different smiles and laughs went through his mind, not registering where he was going or how he was going to get there.  His mind avoided the inevitable thoughts as he flew, faster, faster, faster…

Until he slammed into the broadside of a barn.

o0~*~*~0o

The tavern was too loud.  The party was too wild.  His brothers were celebrating, but all he wanted to do was go home, put his tired horse back in his home, and sleep in a god damn bed for the first time in over 4 months.  He knew his mother would be in bed by now, but they could have their own quiet reunion in the morning.  He would have left before this party even started, if that asshole JJ hadn’t hid his horse somewhere when they got back.  And of course he wouldn’t tell him where unless he came to this damn tavern.  Now he was stuck between the horse thief and one of his superior officers, Yakov.  He was fine with Yakov when he wasn’t angry.  He tended to have a loud temper, but it was definitely a case of mostly bark, one hell of a bite.  JJ on the other hand...

“I am the king of armed cavalry!  Did you see it Otabek?  I held my sword up and took out at least ten men in that last battle!  All it took was one swoosh and ONE DOWN, TWO DOWN, SEVEN DOWN!  I don’t know how you trained that horse to be so calm, but you have to be a genius at horse training.”  JJ smacked him on the back causing a small cough to escape from his lungs.  He heard Yakov let out a small snort then continue his conversation with the woman next to him.  Otabek took a swig of his beer, the same one he had been drinking for the last 3 hours, and barely squinted his eyes.  It was turning flat.  He really needed to get out of here.

“I am good at training horses.  And if I want him to keep his training, I need to take him home.  Where he can get a good night’s sleep.” Otabek turned his head slightly and stared down JJ.  He watched as JJ’s grin faltered then turned into a look of disbelief, then morphed into resigned fear.  JJ held up his hands and let out a forced laughed.

“Alright, alright, I get it!  I left Kazakhstan behind the stable at the eastern barracks.”  JJ turned back to the table and slammed down the rest of his drink.  He then eyed Otabek’s beer and when he saw him start to stand up, he grabbed it and slammed it down too.  Otabek turned his sights to Yakov and nodded his head in farewell before walking toward the door.  “Later man!  See you soon!” 

At least seven guys grabbed him to say their congratulations and welcome homes before he finally made it out of the door.  They each had to grab him or sling an arm around his shoulder to get him to stop long enough to even say anything.  All of them definitely smelled heavily of alcohol, and one even had his hands all over a girl but found the time to turn and slap his ass as he tried to escape.  He had stopped for a good few seconds before deciding that it was best to leave NOW.  He stopped at the stoop and took a deep breath in and let it out in a rather loud and tired sigh.  Without any more hesitation he started making his way toward the eastern barrack.  The streets seemed to be rather empty, with most people back in their homes or out at the taverns partying, but the noises from all around where definitely still loud.  The town was going to be awake for quite a few more hours and tomorrow it would be like a ghost town.

It had been a long war.  Logically, he knew that there had been wars that lasted a lot longer than the one he was a part of.  Some of them his own home town had been a part of.  However, he also knew that _he_ hadn’t been a part of those wars.  It seemed so much longer when you were a part of it rather than when you were just hearing about it from day to day.  He remembered being young as he was tending to the sheep, watching the men leave for the next battle.  He remembered not wanting the honor or grandeur that came with a battle well won.  He also remembered knowing that even though he didn’t want it, he would have to go eventually.  He remembered the times he had trained using a well-balanced stick he had found in the near-by forest when the days tending sheep were too long with little to do.  As he meandered toward the barrack he wondered, as he turned down the main street, if his mother had kept it.  He wouldn’t call himself the best, but he would say that he did feel oddly comfortable with a blade in his hand.  It felt like he could better express himself with the quick movements and intricate footwork better than he ever could with facial expressions or words.  He had to admit that was one thing he was a little envious of his childhood friend at times.  His ability to talk to anyone about anything.  He was always amazed at people that could speak their mind.  People who could so easily show how they feel and what they think.  He had to admit to himself though that it was better to be as he was than to be as into himself as JJ seemed to be.  Maybe people like that just put up a good front to keep people at a certain distance while he just didn’t know how to get people close.

He heard a whiney as he neared the barracks and sure enough, now that he knew where to look, he found Kazak easily.  The horse was pulling at his rope that had been tied to a nearby tree in order to better get to a patch of grass to eat.  As Otabek neared Kazak rose his head, looked toward him, and fidgeted his front hooves.  Otabek smiled and patted his flank as he reached for his head.  It was nice to be able to take Kazak home and not worry about if JJ was going to do something stupid, or brave as his friend put it, and get the horse hurt.  He walked over to the tree, feeling Kazak sniff at his back and push him a bit.  He untied the knot, interrupted a few times by Kazak nibbling at his hair or bumping him in the side.  He patted his head once more before he started walking home, Kazak’s lead in hand.  He would come back later in the day to pick up his pack and sword.  For now he was going to enjoy his walk back home with his horse.

He thought about how nice it will be to see his mom.  How nice it will be to see Kazak run around with the rest of their horses.  How nice it will be to just sit in the pasture watching the grazing animals with their family dog, Almaty, by his side.  Their family had lost one of their young horses on the battle field, one that was used by a younger son of a local general.  He had mourned for that horse, and knew his family was going to be compensated for its death, but he did feel a little guilty that he was relieved it wasn’t Kazak.  He knew it wasn’t right to have a favorite, but ever since the stallion had been born from his mother’s favorite mare, he had been good and hooked. 

He stared out over the hills as he neared the part of town with fewer houses.  He could see the edge of the forest to the north thanks to the near full moon and the fireflies dancing in the distance.  Even with the forest being so well in view he knew it was farther than it looked.  It would take him another hour and a half to get home if he walked.  He looked back at Kazak, turned back forward, and looked back at the horse out of the corner of his eye.  He closed his eyes and huffed as he smiled, preparing himself for the long walk home with good company by his side and a spectacular view that he had missed so much.  He didn’t think he’d smiled this much in too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little tidbit about the world - Fairies bodies fully grow by 18-21 but they aren't considered full adults until they are 50.


	2. It Takes Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pain doesn't just go away at important times.

The sound of the soft green grass along the path as the wind rustled through it was a welcome sound. Being surrounded by soldiers, the snoring, the clang of metal, the soft sounds that were made even just being around hundreds of someones, really made him appreciate the sound of silence. Sure, Kazak would breath a little heavy next to his ear and he had the soft clop of his heavy hooves against the dirt, but even that was quiet compared to the dozens of horses he was sometimes surrounded by back on the battlefield. The chirp of crickets, the hoot of an owl, and even the small hiss of a nearby possum that thought they got a little too close was a nice tonal change to the multitudes of people.

The house was finally within view and he was coming up on the front gate. Even from here and in the dark he could tell there were parts of the fence he would want to repair tomorrow. His mother would argue with him about overworking himself but a farm's work is never done. He reached out, grabbed the lever, pushed it up, and pulled out the gate latch, swinging it wide open to let Kazak in. Kazak made a whiny deep in his throat and pulled a little on the lead, knowing he was home and anxious to get there. Otabek turned back around and pulled the fence closed, feeling another, stronger tug. He chuckled and patted his neck as he passed by, following the much less traveled and smaller path to the house.

The house was not large, only one story and with a wooden porch that surrounded the house. Wooden spindles held up a worn dark wooden banister that would be interrupted by larger wooden columns that held up the beginnings of the roof. It was a house made of cob and clay, the roof an array of different chunks of bark, smaller logs, and straw. A wooden window with actual glass panes was the only luxury his mother really wanted when she and his father built the house, being rather large and covering most of the left side of the front of the house. Now, there was a soft light flickering in the window, a lantern no doubt since there wasn't any smoke coming out of the chimney. Nearby was a barn that had been given more care in creation than the house. It was made of brick and clay, and was twice as large as the small house. The roof had long half logs that were held together by rope and covered with larger bundles of straw that seemed to be much newer than the rest of the structure. A large two panel door rested in the center of the building set away from the building so there was a small entryway into the barn.

Otabek made his way toward the porch and tied Kazak to the nearby column. He hopped over the one wooden step that always creaked no matter how many times he replaced the different pieces of wood. He walked to the front door and carefully pushed it open, taking note of the catch it had against the frame as he did. Peaking his head in, he found his mother laying on the couch, fast asleep. Her dark hair splayed out behind her, falling off the side of the couch. Her arms were tucked under her head to give her a pillow to sleep on. She was small enough that she could have her feet stretched out on the couch, but instead she had them curled slightly, one foot hanging off the edge. It made her look much younger than he knew her to be.

He pushed the door open the rest of the way and quietly made his way over to the couch. He stood watching her sleep for a little while, enjoying hearing her quiet breathes and trying to decide if he should wake her up or leave her on the couch with a blanket. She shifted a little and he decided it would be better on her back if he got her to go to bed. He pulled a piece of her hair that was across her face behind an ear and watched her eyelids flutter and slowly open. She must have registered the touch on her face quickly and turned to look over her shoulder. A slow, small smile that looked exactly like his own crossed her face.

“My little soldier.” She rasped and sat up. She held out her hand asking him for help. As he grasped her hand tight, he felt his heart constrict and beat a hard tempo. She glanced back up to his eyes and her eyes crinkled as her smile got a fraction wider. She pulled him to her smaller frame and pulled his head down to her shoulder, hugging him around his back, under his pack with the other hand. He put his arms around her, breathing in her comforting scent that always made him think of wet leaves and new cut hay. Despite his bigger frame, he couldn't help but feel so small and helpless now that he was back home. It was the safest he had ever felt in the last 6 months.

“I'm home ana.”

o0~*~*~0o

Yuri awoke with a start, a rough surface against his face. He sat up quickly and found a large rocky structure was the cause of his discomfort. His head was throbbing, and his shoulder ached. His eyes felt swollen and as he rubbed them, he felt the wetness on his face. His head whipped from side to side, looking for anything to get his bearings. He stopped as he looked to his left and found a cat lazily staring at him from around a corner far down the building. He looked behind him toward the woods and everything that had happened....a few minutes?...a few hours?...ago came barreling into his mind. It felt like someone punched a hole through his chest, constricting his breathing. He turned back to the cat after hear a soft meow.

 _Ya'll look a might bit tired._ The feminine voice called out to him. _I reckin you could taste good._

“I'm not for eating.” Yuri cursed in his head as his voice cracked in the middle of the sentence. He stood and saw the cat was less pleased with him being as tall as she was. She turned with a tail flick and walked away. Quickly Yuri decided that instead of sitting here wallowing, he should go and follow her. “Where're you going?”

The cat made a low half growl. _I'm goin' huntin'. There ought ta be somfin good in the horse cage. Now hush._

Yuri grabbed the side of his head for a few seconds, his shoulder protesting the movement, and pulled it back down, not wanting to increase not only the pain in his head, but apparently his shoulder too. The cat stopped and stooped low, before springing up to a window and inside the structure. Yuri hesitated and looked around now that he was on a different side. It didn't look like there was anything nearby but a large pasture and some fuzzy white thing in the distance. He tried to focus on it, but his head protested and he made the decision that sleeping this off was a good idea. He followed the cat into the barn and found four stalls within the building. Two were covered in a mound of straw and he buzzed over to the nearest one and flopped ungracefully down on it.

He snorted a small, almost non-existent laugh as an old memory of Yuuri telling him to get in bed more gently so he doesn't break it and Victor yelling that it was funny because Yuuri didn't even follow his own advice. Quickly though, the memory turned into a rather loud sniffle, his eyes prickled, but he was unable to shed any more tears. He punched the straw a few times, hoping to dissipate the constriction that still hadn't left his chest, still hadn't given him a proper breath. All it did was make him more tired and cause a rather loud couple of sobs to escape his mouth. He would kill anyone he knew that saw him like this! He felt so weak and helpless!

Unfortunately, it was at this moment that he noticed a moving fire appear right next to him and the voices of two individuals asking for more attention and sleep. He stared at it for a few seconds, before he recognized it as a lantern and saw a rather large hand around the handle. His eyes then followed the hand to an arm. An arm to a shoulder. A shoulder to a neck. And finally, his eyes landed on a face. A face that he somewhat recognized. A face that was staring right at him. What was it he was always being told by the adults again?...Oh yeah.

Yuri immediately buried himself into the straw as quickly as he could and belatedly realized that he was currently buried in very flammable material. He thought about all the things his grandfather told him humans do with fairy's when they catch one and his own imagination ran wild with the possibilities. Nope, this wasn't happening. He would just imagine himself being back at home, curled inside his nice comfortable bed and with....wait. He was Yuri Plisetsky. He may have had a shitty day, understatement of the fucking millennia, but he didn't run from a shitty human.

Gathering his courage as he cursed the human out in his head a few times, he popped out of the hay with a loud “HA”, intending to throw his fist straight up the humans nostril! ...wait, where did it go? He buzzed in the air above the straw quickly jerking his head around, looking for what he hoped he didn't hallucinate, because that would be bad and he really didn't have the time or energy for a concussion at the moment especially if that cat came back cause he couldn't find anything else to eat and decided that Yuri was its best chance at a meal for the night-oh wait there it is. He found it taking a large horse into one of the other stalls, a black and brown shaggy dog following behind it. Yuri was confused with this behavior for half a second, before he decided to replace it with his default emotion.

“Hey! Who said you could move away from my god damn fist?! I won't be captured easily!” Yuri buzzed to the horses back and landed on its shoulder to stare defiantly up at the human who slighted his brilliant attack.

_What's going on? Ugh is that a cat on my back or a really big fly?_

_Not sure? It looks like a fly, but it also looks like a really tiny alpha._

Dark, tired eyes looked to him, before the human gave a head nod and started walking back toward a colossal door (I mean really that thing had to be half the size of his house!). The horses haunch shivered to try to kick him off and he almost fell over. Oh no, he was going to get his answer, so before he fell off from the movement, he zoomed off to stop in front of this rude asshole. He darted around to the front of its head and before it could even blink he crashed his fist right between the asshole's eyes. Unfortunately, Yuri had forgotten about his shoulder problem. He dropped, almost hitting the floor from the pain he that had that radiated from his shoulder through his back.

“SHIT! MOTHERFUCKER! WHY IS ITS HEAD SO HARD?! AND THAT GOD DAMN WALL JUST POPPED OUT OF NO WHERE!” Yuri curled into a ball in the air as he cradled his hurt arm. His wings fluttering behind him so fast they were almost impossible to see. Suddenly, he felt something against his legs and soon his wings weren't what was holding him up in the air. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!”

He was kneeling on the human's hand. How dare this human even think of touching him without asking. Oh just wait until his arm was better he'd show him you don't mess with a Yuri! He was brought up to it's eye level, glaring for the whole journey, and saw that he had left a red mark right on the bridge of its nose. He smirked triumphantly and lifted his chin in a haughty motion.

“You remind me of a soldier.” At first Yuri thought it was one of the animals talking, but soon he realized it actually came from the giant. When he talked it seemed even the animals stopped to listen it got so quiet.

“What's that supposed to mean? What are you going to do? I'm not going to go down without a fight!” Yuri let go of his arm and raised his other to cover part of his face. Yuri was honestly confused and he didn't handle confusion well. How could he even remotely look like a soldier when all he wore was cotton that was hand made for him. Hell, his kind didn't even make weapons!

“I won't hurt you.” Then Yuri fell onto his uninjured side as the asshole started moving without warning. It was then he realized he wasn't a captive. He was being held in the palm of a hand and could jump off or fly away at any moment. What was going on? Didn't human's rip off their wings any chance they got? His grandfather had told him so many horror stories about them when he was younger. His grandfather wouldn't lie to him. He wouldn't! In fact, isn't that what happened to-

“Hngh.” He doubled over the hole he felt rip through his chest. The tears stung the corners of his eyes and he fought the tears with all he had. He felt a few sobs and gasps escape his mouth and he inwardly cursed and eventually realized he was also outwardly cursing. He was jolted again by the giant stopping and tried to look around him. He was blinded by a bright light suddenly and again he was jolted as they started moving. Yuri gave up fighting against the movement and went into the fetal position, trying to stop the physical, emotional, and mental pain. He wasn't sure when it happened, but he passed out again.

When he woke up, he found himself in a pile of towels, made up like a makeshift bed. He sat up and quickly looked around, not finding anyone near by and a nearby window open. He really wasn't being held here against his will. They really weren't after his magic or his body parts. They were...helping him? Why would they do that? What would they get out of it?

_HEY EVERYONE THE SUN IS COMING OUT! EVERYONE! HEY LISTEN! HEY! HEY BETTY! CAN'T YOU SEE THE SUN IS COMING OUT! YOU GOTTA GET UP!_

Fucking rooster.

Suddenly, he started hearing noises from the other side of the building he was in. He hunkered down low into the towels, hoping he could see them, but they couldn't see him. After waiting for what felt like forever, another human walked out of a doorway. They had a lot longer hair than the other one, but they were making it shorter, using something shiny to turn it into a bun. He watched as they grabbed a basket by the door and put on some thick shoes, before heading out what Yuri assumed was the front door. Yuri sat up and reached up to rub his head. He hissed and pulled his hand away, seeing flaked off blood on his hand.

He looked around and saw a bucket in a room with a giant black metal thing and a bunch of wooden cabinets. He slowly flew over to it and found a nice amount of water sitting inside. He splashed the side of his head a few times, getting rid of the sticky blood. He combed his hair with his hands a few times, remembering the times Yuuri would use a brush he had made just for Yuri's hair, Viktor laughing at how bad Yuri was at doing it himself. Yuri allowed a single tear to escape into the bucket now that he was alone again, but quickly rubbed the trail away. He needed to make a plan, but with the sun coming up, he knew he wasn't going to be awake long enough to do anything for the rest of the day.

As he sat on the side of the bucket, washing the old blood off his face and hands, he thought. He didn't know anyone nearby that could help him. He knew Viktor and Yuuri had friends nearby, but they always came to visit. He had no idea where to even start to find them. Chris and Phichit would be his best bet for surviving and finding his...parents again.

“Oh my.” Yuri fell into the water, not having heard anyone approach. He climbed back out and hid on the other side of the bucket, crouching a bit to hide himself more. He peeked around it to find the long haired human again. They were looking toward the bucket, one hand on their chest and the other holding the basket from earlier. They slowly set the basket down by the table they were near and sat down on their knees. They set both hands on their legs and leaned forward a bit. “Hey, it is alright. I am not going to hurt you.”

“That's what they all say.” He muttered, though it looked like they heard him. They smiled calmly and leaned back.

“Well I do not know who 'they' are, but I was just about to make breakfast. Would you like to join me?”

o0~*~*~0o

Otabek woke up to the best sound he had heard in 6 months. He kept his eyes closed and listened to the sweet melody of his mother's laughter. He could tell the sun was up from how light his room was even with his eyes closed. He had slept in later than he wanted to but he didn't feel too upset about it if this is how he was woken up. Slowly he opened his eyes and felt so bone tired. He rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand and slowly sat up. He heard his mother laugh again and turned toward his doorway. He stood slowly, rolling his shoulder and walked over to look out toward the kitchen.

What he saw was his mother cooking something for breakfast with the little...person?...sitting in a cabinet above her, a scowl directed toward her laugh.

“It's not funny!” The little...boy?...girl?...it was so hard to tell with how small he was and how pretty he looked. When Otabek had first looked at them, he had honestly though he was hallucinating. That is, until he was punched right between the eyes. If he were honest, it had stung. A lot. But then he realized that it wasn't a hallucination, hallucinations don't hurt. He had looked closer and saw there were scratches all over their face and arms. Their hair had been matter with blood on their left side from a would that had recently stopped bleeding. They had tried to favor their left side but rage and self preservation overrode it a few times. Their sleeves had almost entirely been ripped off, one pant leg had been severely ripped at the knee, and there were multiple spots that the light blue clothing had gained small rips. Their eyes, though, their blue-green eyes told of grief and struggle, of an undying spirit to live and avenge. He wasn't lying when he found them, they had looked just like the people he had shared months with on the battlefield in the way he acted, in the way he seemed to fight everything.

He couldn't see details from here, but he could tell that they hadn't changed clothes. His mother looked well rested and relaxed. He wondered what had occurred between them when his mother had first found them.

“It is funny! We eat meat because it is good for us. I take it you do not eat meat?”

“OF COURSE NOT!” The little one leaned back from her. Otabek started walking into the main room. “Animals have feelings and emotions! I talk to them all the time! Why would I eat things I talk to?!”

“You can talk to animals?” His mother looked at the little person excitedly as Otabek finally reached the kitchen. “Beka! Little Yuri here can speak to animals! Is that amazing?”

Yuri huh? The little Yuri jumped when his mother acknowledged him, obviously not noticing he had arrived.

“All animals or just certain ones?” He asked as he grabbed some plates out of the cabinet next to Yuri's. Did he grab a full plate for Yuri or maybe a tea cup would be closer? He also grabbed some forks for the eggs.

“All of them speak the same language dumbass...except fish. Those assholes don't like talking to me.” Yuri took another disgusted look at what his mother was making. Eggs and ham. She must have splurged on getting produce when she knew he was coming home. He set the plates, silverware, and tea cup at the table, one at each chair at the little table against the wall.

“That is so interesting! I wonder if Almaty talks to the sheep as he herds them around?” She mused as she lifted the cast iron skillet and divided the eggs and ham between the two plates. She walked back over towards the stove, dropped the skillet, and picked up a second skillet that Otabek hadn't even noticed. She came back over and divided the potatoes into three parts, filling the tea cup first.

“He tends to mostly laugh at them, kinda like he is getting revenge because they usually yell at him, even when he isn't herding them.” Otabek heard a buzzing noise from the cabinet and looked at Yuri just in time to see him hesitantly fly over. He noticed that Yuri landed closer to his mother than to himself. Yuri sniffed the potatoes and then reached out and brought his hand back when he felt how hot it was. Otabek smiled and picked up his fork. The tea cup was the size of half of Yuri. Coming up just shy of his waist.

“My goodness. That is quite rude of them.” His mother picked up her fork and started cutting into the ham. She stuck the piece in her mouth and looked to the ceiling for a minute as Yuri attempted to grab a piece of the potatoes again. “Yuri, I do not mean to be rude, but are you a boy or a girl?”

Otabek choked on the egg and potatoes he had just tried to swallow. Even though he was wondering the same thing himself, he was betting boy by how low the voice was, he really didn't want to be rude. His mother apparently didn't have such reservations.

“Ah. I'm a boy.” ...why wasn't Yuri angry at the question? “Um...since you asked, its now not rude for me to ask what you both are, right?”

Otabek was absolutely shocked. He was certain his mother and him were obvious in their gender. What in the world did a female of his species look like that he couldn't tell what they are?

“Oh! I am a woman, Inkar, and this is my son, Otabek!” He nodded toward Yuri in agreement still trying to imagine what a female looked like. His mother leaned closer to Yuri and in a conspirator tone asked, “You are a fairy are you not? I've never met a fairy before! And from the sound of it you have been to the farm before since you knew who Almaty was.”

Yuri froze with a potato half in his mouth and stared wide eyed at his mother. He slowly took it out of his mouth and quickly looked between him and his mother. Otabek had remembered his mother telling him stories of fairy tricksters as bed time stories but he had never really been described what they looked like. So this is a fairy? He wondered what tricks and magic he had up his sleeves for the two of them. He doubted it would end in some kind of adventure like his mother was always telling him.

“So you can fly, you can talk to animals, what else can you do?” His mother happily munched on her eggs as she waited excitedly for more information. Yuri stared at her, and Otabek now realized that the blood on Yuri's head from last night wasn't there. In fact, his hair was well kept, all the scratches on his face were pink and scared over. He had lifted the potato with both arms, not favoring one over the other.

“You heal quickly.” Otabek was nearly done with his own breakfast, having been listening more than talking. Yuri hunched his shoulders and glared at Otabek. He wasn't expecting that reaction. What was wrong with healing quickly?

“What do you mean?” His mother turned to him and then looked at Yuri with concern. “Were you hurt yesterday? What happened? Are you okay? I have some aloe in the cupboard if you are still hurting.”

Yuri seemed to shrink into himself more after his mother's concern and he dropped the potato to hug himself around the middle, like he was trying to hold himself together by sheer physical strength. Otabek saw that haunted look take over his eyes again and shared a look with his mother. She looked visibly upset that she had caused such a reaction to her new little friend. She gestured quietly toward the fairy and widened her eyes. He shrugged back to her and glanced toward Yuri and back. She wiped her forehead with her hand, a sad look in her eye, and started eating again. The tinkling of the silverware seemed to break him out of his daze though, and he quickly grabbed another piece of potato and looked around the room.

“I-i-its past my bedtime. I need to sleep. Fuck, I just need to...good morning.” With that, Yuri quickly darted away from the table leaving Otabek to stare at his mom and wonder what information he was missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god Otabek, can you please stop noticing everything and having so many internal monologues. PLEASE. CAN'T YOU BE LIKE YURI AND JUST FIGHT EVERYTHING THAT WOULD BE GREAT THANKS.
> 
> Sorry it took so long to get this out. Lets just say my life is nearly a 180 degree flip from what it was in January.
> 
> Random tidbit:  
> Fairies don't need a soldier class because they are not really fighters. They tend to run or hide in plain sight than actually physically fight. Yuri, however, very much enjoys being physical and it causes Viktor a lot of pain.

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea thanks to a picture I saw on tumblr that I severely want to give credit to. If anyone knows where a picture of a fairy Yuri being helped through the rain by Otabek is from, I would greatly appreciate the help so I could give some love to that artist. That being said, strap in for a ride through my own fairy tale land.


End file.
